OUGD602 - Creative Convos Collaboration

During the course of Creative Convos, it became clear to me that working collaboratively was something I thoroughly enjoyed. This was because I was able to find new ways to create content for a branding identity, which meant learning from other professional designers in the team. Working in this way would also be something I look for in a career, as it would help me to improve my own communication abilities, as well as my design practice.

Working collaboratively on the Creative Convos brief provided the opportunity to engage in several different professional design scenarios. Starting off the brief required research and understanding of how to realise a concept and narrative of a project, which as a result meant a proposal presentation was needed before the project could be approved. This constricted time and pushed the collaboration to explore alternative ideas, plans for colour schemes and layouts. Later in the project, it was also necessary to plan who would be assigned roles in the development stages.

Once the concept had been chosen, the team could then expand and discussions began about how to convey the concept in physical format, as well as digital format. Dividing the team into roles meant it was possible to understand how management was an important factor in the process, and as a result the concept could expand to several different interpretations. Organisation within the team also proved to be a useful strategy, especially when creating multiple forms of branding. This gave each member a chance to work to their specialties and contribute their talent to the project, giving them a chance to further improve their own practice.

Although the process was for the most part a straight forward plan, there were several minor set backs during the development stages, as new members would suggest more ideas to add. This was quickly dismissed, as it would have complicated the process and changed the concept overall. Instead, it was agreed that each member could use their specialties to their advantage and produce content for the identity.

Overall, the project made clear the ways in which a concept can vary in its format potential and how it can be manipulated to work both physically and digitally. Working collaboratively also proved to be the best option for a project that required several design skills, as the time frame was limited and the content involved a vast amount of variations. In conclusion, the brief was beneficial to improving management skills, organisational skills and time planning, which will provide evidence to refer back on in any future branding identity projects.

OUGD603 - Youth Culture initial ideas 2

After looking more into nihilism and its influence on the youth culture of today, I thought about representing opposite sides to nihilism. For example, there is nihilism that some philosophers refer to as optimistic and generally positive to people's lives. There is also pessimism, which refers to the opposite and a general negative expectation of life. This gave me the idea to show how these theories could be represented for the youth culture of today, as opposite visual approaches.

Opposites

• This could be presented in a concertina book, as it has two sides and two opposite covers.
• This could present optimism on one side and pessimism on the other.
• Black and white visual approach would likely work best, as well as inverted colours or generally opposite colours on the spectrum.
• Show how nihilism can be positive and how it can be negative. This could be represented through stories or quotes from young people and their experiences with living dangerous lives or positive lives.
• Negative concern for life in terms of nihilism could be shown by knife crime in recent news involving today's youth.  
• Example's of authority being ignored for a greater cause. Could look at political campaigns or influential figures that defy authority for positive reasons.

Here are some pre sketches of the content planning for each spread and the layout for each page. There are several things I want to keep consistent throughout the publication, including themes of life opportunity, inspiration and improvement. One way to connect with the intended younger audiences, will be to include stories that people can relate to or find inspiration from. Therefore, the people who may feel negatively nihilistic about their life could reconsider their own position, while those who have the opportunities can appreciate their position and strive to be a more driven person as a result.

OUGD603 - Youth Culture initial ideas 1

To start off the visual approach to the project, I began by gathering several visual research sources and looked at inspiring works that are similar to how I picture the final production to look. As the themes of the project will involve rebellion against authority, I felt it would be necessary to find imagery that was either dark, thrown together or rough in some way. Therefore, the visual approach can emulate a sense of revolt against values, authority or tradition. One other way this could be shown could be to use a layout grid that is suited to traditional forms of design and create design that does not strictly follow the guides. This way the design could in itself show how it is rebelling against a guide or set of restrictions, much like youth rebellion. 

Here are several examples of existing works by designers on Instagram. I particularly like how the designs are all likely to have a structure in terms of layout, but choose to ignore exact alignment. This gives the work a more thrown together feel but also reflects the consideration of type placement, imagery and colour. One designer on Instagram that stood out to me was 'super.unknown', for his use of religious imagery and how he combines these images with contemporary graphic design trends, such as glitch effects and stretched font.

Starting off the initial ideas for the process, I began by testing different variations of black and white, inverted colour and duplications of layers. These were inspired by trends in contemporary design and aimed to give the imagery a darker tone.

I added the barbed wire vector around the head of the figure, as if it were a halo. This was inspired by the paintings of religious icons and the recurring halos featured in them.

I then thought about how caution/danger signs could be experimented with in a similar way. At this point I found that the project would need to consider the ethical implications of the visual approach. This was because it would be using religious imagery in a way that could be deemed offensive to some.

Completing an ethics form for the project would ensure a way to address the concerns of the project.

I also edited several variations of existing religious images in the same way. This included paintings and stained glass windows, depicting figures from Christianity.

At this point it was necessary to consider what other avenues could be pursued in terms of production. One concern I still have at this point is whether to use religious figures for the visual approach or if it would be wiser to consider authority in general.

This may lead to other visual approaches to be researched, and as a result a change in the visual process.

OUGD602 - Creative Convos - Contacting Speakers

In the run up to the Creative Convos week, the team gathered and made decisions about we would get into contact with the speakers, as a way to introduce the event before hand. While other members of the team worked on creating the promotional posters for the speakers, I sent out the emails to each person arriving that week.

Sending out the email before hand gave the speakers a more welcoming arrival to the university, as well as giving them the chance to get to know the creative branding team prior to the event. When they arrived, they received their own individual copies of their promotional print, which helped us to introduce ourselves and make the visitor's experience even better. I think that working on this project gave me a better idea of how a studio/agency could connect with potential clients, as well as approaching creative speakers when asking for their time.

If I end up working in a studio/agency in the near future, this approach to professional work could prove beneficial both for the experience of the visiting speaker and representing the institution I would be working for.

OUGD603 - Youth Culture imagery ideas

Design ideas to explore

• Nihilism in youth culture - We currently live in a society that in some places promotes nihilism, through the media. One idea I had for presenting the idea of nihilism of today's society, would be to create something materialistic in nature. This would then mimic the ways in which we are drawn to material products, even if the product has limited value to our existence. For example, we might buy expensive clothing in an attempt to present ourselves as wealthy, even though the high cost of the clothing gives it no more functionality than clothing of a cheaper price. One way I had planned to show this was either as a zine or a magazine, which contained content that is considered desirable to younger generations. The materials of this finished outcome could be over the top or expensive and flash, as this would make the product seem more high in value even if it serves no more functionality than regular materials.
• Looking into high end brands or expensive products could prove useful for ideas about how they appeal to their audience and what makes their packaging or material choice more desirable to people.
• Religious imagery could be shown as discarded in the same way that nihilism evolves around the disregard for faith. One way that this could be shown would be to edit images of religious symbolism or figures that are commonly associated with certain faiths. One thing to keep in mind would be the ethical and moral considerations of the project and to avoid making it offensive to those who may believe in these faiths. Therefore, it would be vital to make sure the project is based on the concept of nihilism, rather than an attack on certain faiths.
• Simulacrum is the representation of certain figures of religious beliefs. This could in someway inspire the designs in a different way, by showing imagery or representations of things/people that are seen as gods or import to many people.

Imagery

Religious

• Virgin Mary, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Christian Cross, stained glass windows,

destructive imagery

• rebellion - bling, gold, money, materialism, anarchy, 
• destructive - demolition, nuclear bombs, flames and fires, war and weaponry
• anarchy - punk, graffiti, rough aesthetic, unclean

OUGD603 - Creative Convos Day 5

For the last day of the week, we were visited by the film-maker Bafic and Tom Finn & Christopher Solling.

Bafic
This talk in the morning gave us insight into how to contact film makers, shoot music videos, promote your work using film and other techniques. I found it interesting that film making could be something you could go into as a result of graphic design.

Tom Finn & Christopher Solling
This talk in the afternoon gave us insight into ways to work collaboratively on projects, particularly publications. It also showed how the use of third party printers and workshops can improve your portfolio as there are several techniques unique to Tom and Christopher that they discovered while working collaboratively with other agencies and printers. I found it interesting that all editions of their magazine were different to one another because the pages had been printed on using a continuously mixing ink. This made each copy unique to the people who buy them.

OUGD603 - Creative Convos Day 4

Today, Eva Cremers came into the studio to give a talk on the 3D animation and installation work she had been doing since graduating. Here we got to see her creative process when putting together a project, from the sketched ideas to the finished commissions for clients. From this workshop, we were able to imagine projects that may be difficult to execute but useful for challenging yourself in your own creative process.

Her Instagram account also had some interesting concepts to think about in terms of how she attracts her audience using social media, as well as the colour scheme she uses to make the Instagram stand out. Eva mentioned the use of hashtags and how you should look for analytical focus in terms of the hashtags that are likely to be searched by your target audience, as well as the content they like that is similar to your work.

OUGD603 - Creative Convos Day 2

Chris Moorby

Today's talk with Chris showed us how to professionally present work using photography and photoshop techniques. This was useful for some of my past projects that I feel might be valuable for my portfolio as the change in background colour or pattern can make it look new. This could also prove useful in the weeks to come when putting together portfolios and photographing work for interviews.

 Looking at the Commission Studios website also showed examples of how to present the work using photographs and relevant layout. As a result of this we then created mood boards based on what inspires our own portfolios or how we would like it to be presented.

Some websites that are relevant to my practice are Maniere De Voir and Lost Soles, as they are both clothing brands based in the UK. Maniere De Voir, based in Manchester uses photography and a bespoke aesthetic to promote their clothing lines. Lost Soles, based in Liverpool also uses photography and areas of the city as backdrops for the clothing shoots. This gave me the idea to try this with my own clothing brand in future, with more attention to background aesthetic and colour schemes on the website.

OUGD603 - Creative Convos Day 1

Valentina Medina / AM session / Q&A

Today, we took part in a Q&A with Valentina Medina during the morning session. Here we learnt about her magazine Suspira, her journey in the creative industry and advice for young professionals trying to gain a career after graduation. Much of the talk into Suspira magazine showed how Valentina had a fascination for the horror genre and the connotations that came with it. Her inspiration for the magazine came from the classical horror represented in movies of the 50s, novels such as Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and theatre plays. Her aim was to create a publication that presented the genre in a more thought provoking way, with attention to detail in the binding and material choices.

From this

The Q&A with Valentina gave me several key points to take away and think about in my own future practice. This includes networking with people that you trust and making collaborations beneficial to both parties. As a result, this can then bring about future projects to work on after building relationships with other creatives. I also learnt more about how to manage your time effectively and where to focus your creative output on a passionate project. One example of this shown in Valentina's work was the time taken to put together the current issues of Suspira, with the first taking 6 months and the second taking 5 months to complete. This shows that although the magazines took months to create, they were not lacking in quality and the finished publications present themselves as thoroughly planned and exceptionally executed. 

Andrew O'dong / PM session / Studio Commission

The talk in the afternoon with Andrew showed us how to contact studio professionals and work collaboratively on commercial projects. One thing that I took away from this talk was to contact professionals using Linked In and to display your work on Instagram in a more professional manner. 

OUGD602 - Predicting an industry studio

For PPP, we were tasked as a team with predicting a studio of the future and how the creative industry may be working in 10 years time. This would involve creating a proposal for a futuristic concept that may be a result of trends in the creative industry.

Presentation Deck:
1. Name and branding
2. Predicting industry trends
3. How your studio meets these new needs
4. Pricing Strategy
5. Case Study

Ideas

• The change from online shopping to social media. Making products more accessible to customers, while they browse Instagram with price tags to the products/check out buttons.
• An app that can display outfits on the customer through a virtual fit. Makes it easier to see how the clothes will look an fit on the person.

Brand name - Glove will be the app and Unique Studios would be the publisher

Predicted industry trends - A demand for clothing to be more easily accessible when you are not in the shop. 

• Could be like a search engine.
• Instagram will be a growing platform for shopping online.
• The app could be a rival to online shopping/Instagram.

How your studio meets these new needs - It would be in the form of an augmented reality application, which would fit into the growing trend of virtual reality. It gives people to option to avoid visiting shops as there is recently more demand for online shopping.

We considered how much retailers would charge, what revenue they have made in 10 years and how our studio idea should price its products. We also considered how this studio might take a commission from other brands to display their items within the app. 

Job roles - Recommended / shopping cart section of the app

• Instead of creating the design for the app in its entirety we opted to show the concept of the proposed app idea in a series of slides. As we are restricted in time, I created a concept image for how the app will work as an extension to Instagram.

The concept

In the Instagram app, the extension to Glove will appear in a similar way to the product tags. Therefore, when customers tap on an item of clothing from a brand image or influencers photo, they will be given the option to 'try on now'. This will then take the user to the Glove app, where they can see an image of themselves in augmented reality trying on the specified clothing item.

In terms of how the navigation between apps would work, the user would be given the option to tap on a particular product and try on straight away, or they could click and hold to select multiple items to try on in the Glove app. This will allow the user to avoid switching between apps frequently when trying on fits.

The idea for an augmented reality came about through research into the body scans and mapping used by existing companies, such as Microsoft Xbox and Pokemon Go. This idea would apply to our proposal as we imagine it would give users the option to scan their body through a series of 3D rendered photographs. This would then build up a profile of the user and make the 'trying on' option easier for the app to register. 

Pricing Strategy - After looking at some of the annual incomes of companies like ASOS and Farfetch, we came to the conclusion that 11% commission was an appropriate cut to take when advertising other company products and making sales.

OUGD603 - Creative Convos Final Decisions

As the event is less than a week away, we began finalising the tasks we had assigned throughout the team in order to prepare for the speakers' visit. At this point the branding identity has been finalised in its conceptual design phase, with only the printing remaining and posts on social media during the run up to Monday.

Finalised Posters

Here are the final designs for the weekly posters, which will be printed by Meg and Megan throughout the week leading up to the event. We decided that the text for each day of the week was better positioned in a speech bubble, in the centre of the poster. This would make it easier for the viewer to identify the speaker with the day they would be visiting, as the poster had previously presented it at the bottom corner of the layout. The idea for the speech bubbles to connect from opposite corners would present the idea that the event is based on communication between speakers and students. This idea also inspired the social media posts to follow a similar design style, with speech bubbles showing a question in one half and a response in the other. As a result the branding will better represent the discussions likely to happen throughout the week and make 'Creative Convos' a more suiting name.

OUGD602 - Uniform Studio contact

After contacting my neighbour Nick Howe, a graphic designer and company founder at Uniform Agency, he sent details of my placement request to a colleague of his. Neil Sheakey got back to me and offered a weeks work at the Bold Street Studio.

In addition to the 2 weeks experience at Creative Race, I now have another week of work experience lined up for April 8th - 12th at Uniform.

OUGD603 - Fences Movie Poster Evaluation

Evaluation

In conclusion to the project, exploring the appropriation of type and layout provided the opportunity to explore design for commercial uses. Research into the use of movie posters provided an understanding of advertising formats in the film industry and how one should consider appropriate formats when designing in this way.

Noting several plot points, character importance and references all contributed to the inspiration behind the poster’s design. Once the idea to create a whole new typeface began, it was clear at an early stage that testing the letters was a wise option. As the letterforms in this typeface were considerably altered, it was important not to overuse it.

Instead, dividing the poster into three sections gave the information space to communicate different ideas to the audience. The title stood out as a focus point in the design, but also gave the actor’s names the chance to contrast and become important features in themselves. 

Overall, I have enjoyed working on this poster brief as it has given me the opportunity to improve on several skills that needed improving for my portfolio. This included the appropriation of type and use of appropriate layout, which would be beneficial to poster design format. Research into the commercial use of movie posters and the elements that are frequently used in them gave me further knowledge of how to articulate ideas into visually stimulating graphic design. I think in terms of my portfolio, this project will provide evidence of typographic knowledge and will show consideration of font choice as well as how to contrast certain styles within the same design. In conclusion, I plan to use this project as an example for any similar future work to take inspiration from.

https://www.practical-home-theater-guide.com/poster-sizes.html - poster print sizing information

OUGD603 - Fences Movie Poster - Printed copy

In order to see how the poster would look, I ordered a printed copy of the design at a size used for bus stops and exteriors of cinemas. This was sized at 60 x 40 inches, and printed on 180gsm semi gloss paper making it more durable and strong enough to endure weather conditions.

One thing that was clear from the results of this print was that the quality of the images decreased once the poster had been enlarged in physical format. Therefore, for future reference, it would be wise to instead ensure the images I use are of the highest resolution and quality for printing.

OUGD603 - Fences Movie Poster Outcome stage

Considerations

• The aim will be to make the typography a focus of the design
• It will rely on the contrast between the dark text and a white background. This will give the text more focus.
• Using a structural poster layout as a starting point of the design.

 After looking at several reviews for the film, I decided to pick out some of the best rated and well known that could then be used for the poster.

Similar to many other commercial posters, this could be displayed using star ratings given by each review.

In order to display a contrast in varying typeface, I decided to try different fonts that could be used to display the names of the actors. These fonts include Bebas Neue, DIN Condensed Bold, Poppins and Times.

Personally, I feel that Times is the best font to use alongside the title because this will contrast the style and draw attention to separate areas of the design.

Using a grid of thirds, the design positioned the reviews within the top third of the page, followed by a strap line review and names of the actors. The bottom line of the grid would run through the middle of the text, allowing it to sit comfortably above the billing credits but also remain a focus of the page.

The use of Times for the actors' names also proved to be the best option among the chosen fonts, as it provided contrast to the bold lettering in the title and gave the design a more stylish, commercial appeal. This font also worked well in italic for the strap line placed beneath the top third of the poster.

Applying the poster to a mock up of a cinema lobby was one way to see how the design could work in the appropriate environment. Adding a black border to this mock up allowed the background the separate from the design.

OUGD603 - Creative Convos Printed Promotion

Promoting the event in physical form meant printing off different promotional pieces of material, including schedules for each day, branding stickers for the rooms and name badges for participants of the workshop.

We assigned a number of different roles for this stage in the development, which would best suit the practice of each individual. Therefore, as Jasmine and Megan were most interesting in the physical production of the project we gave them the option to create the schedule of the event and other posters.

Here are several examples of the schedule, which would be made using a vinyl sticker and placed near the entrance of the speakers' room.

After discussion with the group, Jasmine proposed several examples of how the name badges could be made as stickers. Here are examples of each of these, based on the style of the logotype speech bubble. Overall, we felt that the most appropriate was the top left option as it would show consistency of the campaign when using the same style speech bubble. We found this to be the best option because it also allowed the speakers and participants to write their own names within the stickers and interact in some way with the campaign's branding.

OUGD602 - The Art of The Cover Letter

Cover letter - introduction to your personality and skills / why you should get the job position / customised to the employer

• needs to be clear and concise
• confident approach
• don't repeat what's on your CV

Start by researching the company - opportunity to strike up similarities between yourself and the employer. 

• how big is the company/team?
• what work are they known for?
• what is the general aesthetic of the company?
• Tell them what you have to offer
• use a professional tone, but don't lose all personality. Don't be too formal and add some playful lines.
• finish wish a strong ending - this may excite the employer and offer them something unique.

Grammarly / Hemmingley Apps to check punctuation.

Subject: (playful) enquiry application

Dear Company name, 

(playful intro line)

• Introduction to who you are, where you come from and where you are based. (designer / brand enthusiast / Liverpool and Leeds)
• what excites you to work at the company.

How long you intend to work there and what date. Intention for working there.

Outline similarities between your own work and the employer's work. Discuss work that inspired you and similar interests you both have.

What you think you will get from the internship/job. Some skills that may be beneficial to them.

"I've attached a digital portfolio, tailored to you" - more found at (insert Instagram) and (website). Could finish with a playful tone / funny line (reference to something).

best, Alex

OUGD603 - Fences Movie Poster Development

Image gathering

In order to create the poster in a variety of ways, it was first necessary to gather imagery from the film that could be used for the poster. For this, I focused on the characters found in the film, including Troy (Denzel Washington), Rose (Viola Davis), Cory (Jovan Adepo), Jim (Stephen Henderson), Gabriel (Mykelti Williamson) and Lyons (Russel Hornsby). As the film features only 6 main characters, this could be applied to the design in some way. One idea that I have in mind would be to show each character behind each letter of the title, as there are six letters used in Fences. However, the idea could also be simplified to the focus mainly on the 3 main characters Troy, Rose and Cory.

To start off the development, I first tried to show the image layer within the typography layer using a single image. From this I found that the letters were often too thin to cover the background space, exposing the image. As a result, It was necessary to alter the weight of the type in order to cover the negative space.

Next, I tried adding different images to each letter and at different colour levels. Making the images black and white seemed to give a more gritty feel to the designs, however this was not the intention I had in mind. Therefore, I decided to use images that were dramatic and serious so that the poster could reflect the dramatic themes of the film. By changing the black and white to a slightly darker contrasted colour the images would give a sense of dark undertones to the poster.

One of the previous ideas that involved adding each character to each letter was also experimented with. However, this seemed to overcrowd the visual approach and in favour of this idea it was better to only apply three main characters in the background imagery.







Finalising
Before moving onto the final stages of the design process, the typography was slightly altered until I was happy with the spacing and positioning of each image. Adding a black background to these images would also give each letter form more emphasis and contrast against a white background.

OUGD603 - Fences Movie Poster Initial Ideas 2

 Continuing the experimentation with the title, the next stage involved making the text look more like an object and adding more definition to its shape and character.

Here are several examples of how colour was used to create a sense of distance and dimension within each letter, while trying to allow each letter to remain visually similar to a fence post.

The title was then given a pointed tip on each letter, much like how a picket fence would look. One thing that was concerning at this point was the kerning between the letter forms and their legibility.

I also designed several other letters in the same way, so that they might form the names of the actors. This could then be later tested on the poster if needed. Creating letters in this style proved to be a difficult task as the letters required a 'plank' shape to be used in order to follow consistency. This meant changing letters to look more like text and as a result, other letter forms would need to be altered to continue the fence pattern. One thing that I learnt from this was that consideration of all letters of the alphabet would have been a better way to understand how the text will look when following a consistent style or pattern.


One idea that came to mind while creating the text for each actor, was to visualise each backyard shown in the movie. The idea was to show distance and dimension from the perspective of the viewers. They would see the fences of each backyard as if they were stood there themselves. Therefore, this would visually place the viewer in the scene of the film and make them consider some of the messages it has.

OUGD603 - Creative Convos - Social Media Development

Once the developed logotypes and layout had been approved, we then assigned the social media tasks to Mike and George. They then added the images of each speaker to the social media posts and changed the colour to halftone. This would mimic the halftone found in the original poster style, while showing viewers who will be attending.

We all agreed that the best option to use for promoting the event would be through Instagram. This was because it would focus primarily on image based promotion and we would be able to document the event as it is happening, through the use of Instagram stories or live video feeds. We also agreed after trying several colours that the best option would be to keep the colour scheme minimal and only use Cyan and Magenta. This would allow us to alternate between colours each day of the event, while maintaining the blue identity that had originally been proposed.

OUGD603 - Fences Movie Poster Initial Ideas 1

Starting off the initial stages of the project, I began by practicing different strokes in illustrator. This could then be used to visualise the strikes in baseball in an almost chalk effect. This further gave me the idea to make the strikes look as though they are combined together as a picket fence.

My next idea was to try to visualise the baseball hanging from a rope in the back yard scenes of Fences. This prop was found several times throughout the film and was referenced several times, along with the baseball bat. The idea I had in mind was to try and create a minimal approach to the poster, displaying the rope and ball hanging at the centre of the design.

After seeing several examples of existing movie posters and the layouts used for their design, I started to sketch several visual representations of how the poster could potentially look and what the ideal font could be.

The idea to represent a picket fence in the previous idea also gave me the idea to try this using the title of the film. For example, the planks of wood found in a picket fence could be displayed as each letter of the Fences title. If these ideas do not work during development, then the alternative approach could be to focus on the photographs of characters and how they can combined or reflective of the letters of the title.

OUGD603 - Fences Movie Poster Research

Some of the themes found in this film can be used for the general aesthetic of the design, meaning the layout and colours used in the poster will depend on the tone of the movie. The film itself revolves around the main character Troy, played by Denzel Washington, and his relationship with his family. The film mostly focuses on Troy's relationship with his son Cory and it questions how a father should raise his children, morals of the family and attitudes of the 1950s. The tone of the film is uplifting at times, but also includes several instances of domestic conflict between Troy, his wife Rose and son Cory. Throughout the film there are several references to baseball and how the rules of the game can be applied to real life situations. For example, Troy tells his son that he has 'three strikes' until he is out, meaning he only allows Cory three chances to live in his house before he is sent to live elsewhere. This reference to baseball gave me the idea to replicate the strikes visually in some way.

The audience are also aware of Troy's alcohol dependency throughout the film and how it affects his relationship with his family and friends. One idea that came to mind from this would be to visualise the gin bottle that Troy is seen with in many scenes. As a result of Troy's alcoholism, he often mentions how he 'wrestles with death' and can be seen at several points talking to 'death' as if in a fight. This could also be shown through the design stages as a theme of the film.

reviews

Empire - A simply extraordinary film without crashes, bangs and wallops but full of towering performances delivered with intelligence, power and heart.

NY Times - What is most remarkable about this film is how thoroughly — how painfully, how honestly, how beautifully — it answers the question "What about my life?"

Common sense media - Wilson's screenplay, based on his own award-winning play, is a potent brew that warms your stomach upon the first swig and then simmers to a boil. It's intense, exhausting, and worth it.

Rolling Stones - "One of the best films of the year"

Quotes

• You ain't gonna find me going and asking nobody for nothing.
• Some people build fences to keep people out, and other people build fences to keep people in.
• Don't go through life worrying about if somebody like you or not.

Layout Research

• https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/02/7-elements-of-a-great-movie-poster-design/  - This article gave me advice on how to utilise certain poster layout methods

OUGD603 - Creative Convos Development

After assigning the roles between the group we were able to create several posters for each day of the event, social media ideas and plans to have the promotion printed. It was important at this point that Meg and I would oversee the progress to the concept, so that any changes that are made would still remain true to the visual approach. The most important thing to maintain was the CMYK and the halftone theme, so that the posters would visually represent the traditional methods of printing.

• Handing over some of the original designs, styles and experiments to the rest of the team showed that several more versions could be proposed.
• We knew that we wanted the posters to remain similar to how we had imagined them, and therefore the team only made subtle changes. This included experimenting with colour placement, as well as positioning of the halftone effect and the text.

• At some points in the development we knew that we wanted the colour of the halftone to remain a focus. Here we decided that adding more colours such as black would only further complicate the printing process, as it would require more screens to be prepared.
• This also somewhat took away the element of minimal approach, which we wanted to be an important factor.

• Experimenting with the colours also brought about the idea to try overlaying colour during the printing stage. This would allow certain areas, such as the halftone pattern, to remain subtle and light, while the central design could show a more eye catching flat use of colour.

• The box used to display the central text had undergone several experiments, which would propose an easier option for the printing process. This involved trying to use outlines, negative space and limited colour palettes.

OUGD603 - Creative Convos development discussion

Today we met with our voluntary collaborators and organised a plan of action for the remainder of the job. This included discussing certain ideas of development as well as assigning specific roles that would benefit the project but also the individual's practice. The team had now been expanded to include 2 social media developers (George and Mike), promotional material (Jasmine) and another screen printer (Megan). By assigning these roles, we could then use each person's expertise to our advantage and create the vision we had in mind for the project.

OUGD603 - Fences Movie Poster Brief

When thinking about my portfolio and the types of work that I want to use for interviews, I know that designing in relation to film is something I have always loved. By including a movie poster in my portfolio I will be varying my style of visual approach to promotional material. Some of my past works on movie posters and CD covers has also provided me with the techniques and process necessary to make more of what I love best.

Movie Ideas

• Fences was a movie I had recently seen which had some interesting concepts and subjects that could be explored through graphic design. This includes family life in the 1950s, the role of parents, references to baseball and several recurring props. 
• Props in Fences - Baseball/baseball bat, chain link fences, picket fences, wood/saw, gin bottles.
• References in Fences - Bases on a baseball field, strikes/strike-out in baseball, 18 year marriage, 'wrestle with death', hard work, family.

I chose to promote Fences in a movie poster because the plot was easy to reference, there were limited characters and while researching several examples of the movie poster I found that there were limited existing concepts for this film. My plan from this point would be to further research the contemporary approaches to movie posters, look at poster design of the 1950s and see what trends are recurring in this area of design. From here, I may be able to get an idea of how I want the poster to look and gather some inspirational designs to use as a starting point in the initial stages.

OUGD603 - Creative Convos meeting

After finding out my collaborator and I had been chosen to complete the branding for Creative Convos week, we met with tutors to discuss further development of the project. This would include talks of collaborating with other designers, potentially animators and/or photographers. This would be beneficial to the current work that has been proposed, as it will allow us to share our vision with others and manage different roles accordingly. At this stage, it is clear that time management will be an important factor in the weeks to come.

From this we devised a plan for each day of the coming two weeks, in preparation for Creative Convos week. Today, we would be making several changed to the visual approach of the poster and logotype. More specifically, I would be proposing several alternative versions of the speech bubble used in the logo while Meg would be altering the layout and composition of the promotional material.

During today's development of the logo I experimented with a series of styles, including different kerning space and placement within the speech bubble.

In order to further develop the bubble the text was changed to italic, which encouraged the design to become more slanted as a result. I felt that this approach was more unique and added a more abstract feel to the design.

In an attempt to make the logo more playful, the corner shape was experimented on. The aim here was

to play with the idea of an alternative shadow design. The problem that we found however was that in order to add this shadow effect the screen print may need to include another colour.

After trying these ideas, I focused on the mix between the colour found in the posters and the halftone background that was initially used. Combining these into logos and alternative approaches to the poster can be discussed during the week in critiques.